Apparatus for inserting a syringe needle into a vial

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for inserting a syringe needle into the rubber diaphragm of a vial of medicine. The method includes the steps of positioning a needle-type syringe on a holder, positioning the vial in a carrier which is slidably mounted on the holder and sliding the carrier on the holder towards the syringe so that the vial moves into contact with the needle of the syringe and with the diaphragm of the vial being punctured by the needle. The apparatus includes a holder, of a lightweight inexpensive material, which includes a plurality of yokes at one end to hold the syringe and a carrier slidably mounted on the holder for holding the vial. The syringe is held secure against endwise movement on the holder and the carrier holds the vial against endwise movement relative to the carrier and against lateral or vertical movement relative to the holder.

United States Patent [191.

Whitty [4 1 Dec. 10,1974

APPARATUS FOR INSERTING A SYRINGE NEEDLE INTO A VIAL I [75] Inventor:Albert J. Whitty, Livonia, Mich.

[73] Assignee: Sinai Hospital of Detroit, Detroit,

Mich.

[22] Filed: Feb. 5, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 329,501

[52] US. Cl 141/27, 141/233, 141/330, '141/375,128/218 C [51] Int. Cl.B65b 3/32, B67c 3/16 [58] Field of Search 141/375 X, l, 2, 19, 26,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,610,241 10/1971 Le Marie141/375 3,661,189 5/1972 Bowser 128/218 C PrimaryjExaminerLouis R.Prince Assistant ExaminerA. Jason Mirabito Attorney, Agent, orFirmCullen, Settle, Sloman & Cantor [5 7 ABSTRACT .A method andapparatus for inserting a syringe needle into the rubber diaphragm of avial of medicine. The method includes the steps of positioning aneedle-type syringe on a holder, positioning the vial in a carrier whichis slidably mounted on the holder and sliding the carrier on the holdertowards the syringe so that the vial moves into contact with the needleof the syringe and with the diaphragm of the vial being punctured by theneedle.

The apparatus includes a holder, of a lightweight inexpensive material,which includes a plurality of yokes at one end to hold the syringe and acarrier slidably mounted on the holder for holding the via]. The syringeis held secure against endwise movement on the holder and the carrierholds the vial against endwise movement relative to the carrier andagainst lateral or vertical movement relative to the holder.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the fillingof syringes from a multiple dose injection vial, it is well known thatif the needle of the syringe is not properly positioned, the needle maybend or break as it engages the rubber diaphragm in the vial.

, Furthermore, patients who are self-injecting-medication such asinsulin often have poor vision and the re sulting problem in properlylining up the syringe and the vial.

In addition, patients with. poor vision, often place their thumb on thediaphragm of the vial and then reading the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the drawings.

guide the needle into the diaphragm by placing the nee- 'dle against theside of the thumb. This, however, results in some contamination of thediaphragm.

Yet another problem occurs in the insertion ofa needle of a syringe intoa vial if the patient has any one of It is another object of the presentinvention to provide an apparatus for assisting patients who are eitherblind or have low visionto properly insert a needle of a syringe intothe rubber diaphragm of a vial;

Yet another object of thepresent invention is the provision ofapparatus, bulky enough so that a patient with a physical afflictionwhich prevents him from handling small objects, may insert the needle ofa syringe into a multiple injection vial.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present method includes the steps ofpositioning a needle-type syringe on a lightweight holder with theneedle extending inwardly and the holder securing the syringe againstendwise movement, positioning the vial horizontally in a carrier whichis slidably mounted on the holder, the vial being positioned with thediaphragm end disposed toward the needle of the syringe and the carrierholding the vial against endwise movement relative to the carrier and,sliding the carrier on the holder toward the needle until the diaphragmof the vial is punctured by the needle so that the vial receives theneedle fully inserted.

The apparatus includes a holder manufactured of a lightweightinexpensive material of sufficient bulk to be handled by persons withphysical afflictions, the holder having a plurality of yokes formaintaining the syringe with the needle extendinginwardly and thesyringe secured against endwise movement. The apparatus further includesa carrier slidably mounted on the holder with the carrier for holdingthe vial with the diaphragm end of the vial disposed toward the needle.The vial is held against endwise movement relative to the carrier andagainst lateral and vertical movement relative to the holder.

. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS- The foregoing objects of thepresent invention, to-

gether with other objects and advantages which may be attained by itsuse, will become more apparent upon In the drawings, wherein likereference numerals identify corresponding parts:

FIG. I is an exploded illustrative view of the apparatus of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the elongated holder of the presentinvention showing a syringe properly supported thereon and a vial beinginserted into the carrier;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the carrier of the present invention;

' FIG. 4 is a side view as seen in the direction of the arrows 44 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the apparatus of the present inventionprior to sliding the carrier toward the syringe; and FIG. 6 is a topplan view of the present invention after the carrier has been slidtoward the syringe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings, thereis illustrated a syringe 10 having a barrel 12 and a plunger 14 disposedwithin the barrel. The plunger extends outward from the barrel at afirst end and terminates in a knob or plunger push means 15. The otherend of the barrel is referred to as the needle end 16 and a needle 18projects outwardly therefrom.

The vial 20 includes a metallic cap 22 having a central diaphragm 24which is normally of rubber. The vial includes a neck 26, sides 28 and abottom 30. Both the syringe and the vial are old and well known.

conventionally, when a person wishes to fill a syringe, the .vial istaken in one hand and the syringe in the other and the needle of thesyringe is pushed through the rubber diaphragm of the vial. Then theplunger of the syringe is withdrawn to fill the syringe with the properdosage of medicine.

Persons with limited dexterity, physical afflictions or other handicapshave great difficulty in properly holding both the vial and syringe andinserting the needle of the syringe through the rubber diaphragm of thevial. Furthermore, it is unfortunate but true that many diabetics alsosuffer from vision problems. Therefore, it is understandable that manypatients who would otherwise be able to self-inject medicine and therebybe somewhat more self-sufficient are unable to do so.

To assist persons in properly inserting the needle of the syringe intothe vial, the apparatus of the present invention includes a holder. 32having a. plurality of yokes 34, 36, 38 which engage the barrel 12 ofthe syringe with the needle 18 extending longitudinally inward along theholder. The holder includes a plurality of tracks 40 which have trackends or stops as at 42 into which the carrier 44 of the presentinvention is slidably mounted.

The carrier 44 includes side walls 46 having internal flanges 48, a top50 which extends only partially over the carrier and a rear wall 52which extends downward from the top 50 only a short distance.

The method of the present invention includes'positioning the syringe l0horizontally on the holder with the needle I8 extending longitudinallyinward and the yokes 34, 36 and 38 securely holding the syringe againstlongitudinal movement.

A vial 20 is positioned within the carrier 44 such as by inserting thebottom 30 through the opening between the end of the top 50 and theinternal flanges 48.

The vial is positioned horizontally as in FIGS. 5 and 6 within thecarrier such that the diaphragm end 24 is disposed toward the needle end16 of the syringe. The carrier holds the vial against longitudinalmovement relative to the carrier itself. Furthermore, the top 50 andsides 46 hold the vial against vertical and lateral movement relative tothe holder.

With the vial properly positioned within the carrier, the carrier isslid along the tracks of the holder toward the syringe so that the vialand carrier move together and the diaphragm of the vial moves intocontact with the needle of the syringe. Further sliding of the carriercauses the vial to be punctured-by the needle and move past the needleso that the vial receives the needle fully inserted.

The sliding of the carrier may be stopped either by the abuttingrelationship between the side walls 46 of the carrier and the track ends42 or by contact with the cap 22 and diaphragm 24 with the needle end 16of the barrel 12 of the syringe.

. The holder and carrier of the present invention may be manufactured ofa lightweight inexpensive plastic and, for use with standard insulinvials and syringes, the holder would be seven inches long and one andone quarter inches wide. The carrier is approximately one inch wide, oneinch high and two and one half inches long. The carrier moves inwardly adistance of one and one half inches until the needle is fully inserted.On the return movement of the carrier, a stop 54 mounted on the holderserves to alert the user that the vial and carrier are fully withdrawnand returned to a rest position. In the rest position (FIG. 5) theholder, carrier, vial and syringe may be stored, such as in arefrigerator, until the next use of the syringe. Disposable syringesmay, of course, be used with the present invention.

The present invention provides significant benefits for blind patientsas well as for those with physical afflictions which prevent them fromgrasping small objects. The yokes provide for proper alignment of thesyringe. The carrier provides for foolproof loading of the vial sincethe neck of the vial is supported by the flanges 48 and thus the vial issecured between the flanges 48 and the rear wall 52 of the carrier.Sliding the carrier inwardly automatically engages the needle of thevial without bending or damaging the needle and sliding the carrieroutwardly automatically disengages the needle. 7

The physical bulk of the plate and carrier are sufficient that personswith physical afflictions will not have to hold small objects separatelyand attempt to negotia ate the needle into the diaphragm of the vial.Furthermore, a person suffering from an affliction such as arthritisstill can utilize the present invention since it is not necessary toopen and close the hand to slide the carrier.

The foregoing is a description of one embodiment of the presentinvention and it should not be read in a restrictive sense but only asdescribing the underlying concepts of the present method and apparatus.The invention may be further developed within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for assisting persons to insert the needle of aconventional barrel-and-plunger type syringe into the diaphragm of avial such as a multiple dose injection vial, said apparatus for movingthe vial toward the needle, which is stationary, until the needlepenetrates the diaphragm, comprising:

a lightweight, inexpensive elongated holder having a first portion forpositioning a vial and a second portion for releasably retaining asyringe, said syringe and vial being positioned for storage with thevial diaphragm and the syringe needle in an opposed, spaced apartrelationship, 7

said second portion of said holder including a plurality of yokes toengage the barrel of the syringe and releasably retain the syringeagainst vertical, lateral and endwise movement .with the needle disposedinwardly parallel to the longitudinal axis of the holder, and

a carrier slidably mounted on the first portion of said holder,

said carrier for holding the vial, with the diaphragm end toward theneedle, against endwise movement relative to the carrier and againstlateral and vertical movement relative to the holder,

whereby, upon sliding the carrier on the holder to ward the needle endof the syringe, thevial in the carrier moves closer to and ultimatelyagainst the needle with the diaphragm being punctured thereby, and uponfurther sliding of the carrier the needle-penetrates the diaphragm andis fully insert ed therethrough into the via].

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said holder in cludes a plurality oftracks in which said carrier is slidably mounted, the ends of saidtracks for stopping the sliding of the carrier when the needle haspenetrated the diaphragm and is fully inserted in the vial.

, 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sliding of the carrier islimited by the physical contact of the diaphragm end of the vial withthe needle end of the barrel of the syringe.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the carrier includes:

side walls for limiting lateral movement of the vial relative to theholder, and transverse internal flanges to engage the neck of said via]to limit endwise movement of the vial with respect to the carrier, and

a rear wall to abut the bottom of the vial and further limit saidendwise movement.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 and. further including a stop mounted onsaid holder,

said stop for cooperating with the bottom of the vial and therebylimitingendwise movement of the vial and carrier, away from the needleend of the syringe relative to the holder.

1. Apparatus for assisting persons to insert the needle of aconventional barrel-and-plunger type syringe into the diaphragm of avial such as a multiple dose injection vial, said apparatus for movingthe vial toward the needle, which is stationary, until the needlepenetrates the diaphragm, comprising: a lightweight, inexpensiveelongated holder having a first portion for positioning a vial and asecond portion for releasably retaining a syringe, said syringe and vialbeing positioned for storage with the vial diaphragm and the syringeneedle in an opposed, spaced apart relationship, said second portion ofsaid holder including a plurality of yokes to engage the barrel of thesyringe and releasably retain the syringe against vertical, lateral andendwise movement with the needle disposed inwardly parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the holder, and a carrier slidably mounted on thefirst portion of said holder, said carrier for holding the vial, withthe diaphragm end toward the needle, against endwise movement relativeto the carrier and against lateral and vertical movement rElative to theholder, whereby, upon sliding the carrier on the holder toward theneedle end of the syringe, the vial in the carrier moves closer to andultimately against the needle with the diaphragm being puncturedthereby, and upon further sliding of the carrier the needle penetratesthe diaphragm and is fully inserted therethrough into the vial.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein said holder includes a plurality of tracksin which said carrier is slidably mounted, the ends of said tracks forstopping the sliding of the carrier when the needle has penetrated thediaphragm and is fully inserted in the vial.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1wherein the sliding of the carrier is limited by the physical contact ofthe diaphragm end of the vial with the needle end of the barrel of thesyringe.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the carrier includes: sidewalls for limiting lateral movement of the vial relative to the holder,and transverse internal flanges to engage the neck of said vial to limitendwise movement of the vial with respect to the carrier, and a rearwall to abut the bottom of the vial and further limit said endwisemovement.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 and further including a stopmounted on said holder, said stop for cooperating with the bottom of thevial and thereby limiting endwise movement of the vial and carrier, awayfrom the needle end of the syringe relative to the holder.